Dan Powers, former chef-owner of Boogaloo, is returning to the restaurant world with Toast & Thyme (231 S. Bemiston), a weekday café opening on the ground floor of The Bemiston Tower in Clayton later this month.
Designed for speed and simplicity, the counter-service concept aims to serve chef-driven food without fuss, catering to office workers and anyone looking for a reliable breakfast or lunch that’s done well and quickly.
Here’s what to know before you go.
The Space & Menu
Toast & Thyme will take over the former Metro Java Coffee House space, a 45-seat interior that Powers says was in excellent condition and required only minor updates. Most of the changes are subtle, with the most noticeable being the addition of “classic yet modern” crystal-and-steel chandeliers. Powers added a few pieces of kitchen equipment, but the footprint and flow of the room remain largely intact.
The café will operate from 7 a.m.–3 p.m. Monday through Friday, with breakfast served until 10:30 a.m. The menu is built for efficiency, Powers says, with every item designed to be produced in three to four minutes. Meats including beef, chicken, pork, and sausage will be roasted or prepared in house, while cured meats will be sourced from outside producers.
The offerings include toasted sandwiches, salads, and bowls, along with four house-made soups at all times. Powers’ popular chicken-and-andouille gumbo will be a constant along with chili, while two additional soups will regularly rotate. Half-and-half options, pairing soups with sandwiches or salads, will also be part of the mix.
Powers’ Caribbean-influenced cooking, familiar to fans of Boogaloo, will show up in items such as the Cubaniche sandwich and aforementioned gumbo.
Beverage options include soft drinks and Kaldi’s coffee, but no beer, wine, or spirits are planned.
Preordering will be possible through Toast, with plans to add third-party delivery and catering soon. (Powers believes that box lunches could become a significant part of the business.) A refrigerated case will also stock grab-and-go sandwiches, snacks, and sides for guests on the run.
As for the name, Toast & Thyme came together organically, Powers says, after the breakfast menu was developed and the alliterative “thyme” proved “easy to say and remember.”
The Backstory
Boogaloo first opened in 2005. Dan’s father, Tom Powers, founded it alongside chef Mike Johnson, who helped design and build the restaurant. Known as the first and only St. Louis bar with swinging bar seats, Boogaloo quickly distinguished itself both visually and culinarily.
In 2015, Dan Powers purchased the restaurant and ran it until its closure in mid-2024, one of many establishments that struggled to rebound after the pandemic.
During its run, Boogaloo developed a reputation for dishes rarely seen elsewhere in St. Louis, including Brazil nut–encrusted manchego, conch fritters, and a blackened catfish po’ boy. Its sandwich menu featured what many considered one of the city’s best Cuban sandwiches, the Cubaniche, which now finds new life at Toast & Thyme.
Through a mutual connection, Powers learned that Bemiston Tower was seeking a change in food service. With more employees returning to the office, he saw an opportunity to offer chef-inspired food rooted in a “basics done better” philosophy, served quickly and at reasonable prices.
“At lunch,” Powers says, “it doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that.”
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